Glossary
What is a phase
Splitting what you ask for into blocks, which is what most raises delivery.
Phase
A block of requests that open together inside a case. The next opens when the previous one is complete.
It is not organisational decoration: it is the reason people deliver. Twelve requests at once get left for later; four blocks of three get worked through.
How to split them well
"Company documentation", "people documentation", "machinery documentation" are meaningful phases. "Phase 1", "Phase 2" and "Phase 3" say nothing to whoever receives them.
Watch out
Chaining too many phases lengthens the process: each waits for the previous. Three or four is usually the useful limit.
Worth knowing
If everything you ask for can be delivered at once and there are no real dependencies, one phase is correct. Phases serve where there is an order, not always.
›Can a phase be opened early?
Yes, if you need that part urgently.
›Does the participant know about later phases?
They see their own. Phases not yet opened do not appear to them.
›Can a phase be added while the case runs?
Yes.
A real case
The situation
An onboarding asks for eleven documents in one phase and has been open three weeks.
What you do
- Splits them into three named phases
What you get
The next subcontractor delivers all six mandatory items in four days.
The situation
Fifteen documents are requested at once and none arrives.
What you do
- Splits into phases and starts with the essentials
What you get
The first phase completes and the rest follows behind.
The situation
One phase depends on another finishing and nobody knows.
What you do
- Orders phases by what actually depends on what
What you get
The supplier does not receive requests they cannot yet meet.
The situation
All phases open at once and the supplier gets lost.
What you do
- Opens the next one as the previous closes
What you get
Each moment has a short, clear list.
The situation
A phase stalls and nobody notices.
What you do
- Lets it flag when a phase has been open too long
What you get
The blockage surfaces without being hunted.
The situation
Phases are called «phase 1» and «phase 2».
What you do
- Names them after what each one asks for
What you get
The supplier understands what is due without opening anything.
This article answers
- what is a phase in a process
- why split into phases
- why am i not asked for everything at once
- order of phases in a case